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In the Oct. issue of Fine Woodworking – No. 151, Mike Dunbar uses tea as a colorant for one of his pine cupboards. He describes using a strong tea/water mixture on the pine surface and then sanding the raised grain this produces between applications. I would like to try tea to darken the color of pine, but was thinking of using something other than water as a carrier to avoid the raised grain. If anyone has tried something like this and can offer suggestions I would appreciate it very much.
David L. Allred
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David, handling raised grain is no big deal. About three wipes of 220 grit sandpaper knocks down the nubbies from most types of wood. It seems like the biggest problem most people have in raised grain is that they oversand after having raised it.
I would suggest trying sanding a scrap piece, then wetting it down. After drying, try a very light handheld sanding, feeling the surface after each pass or two.
Dave
*If you hand plane your wood (I do) there is very little raised grain. Dave is right, that it takes only a light pass or two to remove the raised grain,and if you over sand, you just cut into “new" wood and create more raised grain.
*David,If you are worried about raised grain, apply water to the raw pine and let the grain raise up. Then sand it smooth and raise the grain again. Repeat the sanding to smooth the surface then use the tea to stain the pine, there should be little if any grain left to raise.Stephen
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